PLANTS. 
33 
Specimens of the horny or shelly plate (operculum) closing the 
mouth of many Gastropod shells are also exhibited in this case. 
The right end of the same case displays spirit-preparations 
of the Cephalopod Molluscs, such as Cuttle-fish, Squids, 
Nautilus, Paper-ISTautilus, &c. Specimens of the horny 
beaks possessed by all members of this class are also 
exhibited ; and a Pearly Nautilus, with the shell cut in two in 
order to show the air-chambers and the comparatively small 
space occupied by the "animal," will be found of special 
interest. 
The table-case in this bay, as mentioned above (p. 14), is 
devoted to the illustration of Mimicry " and kindred pheno- 
mena. Most of the examples shown occur among Insects ; but 
one example among Mammals and a second in Birds are 
illustrated. Yery striking is a coloured sketch showing a group 
of red and black caterpillars from Singapore collected side by 
side on the stem of a plant so as to present a remarkable 
similarity to a succulent fruit. Another instance of a 
similar type, from East Africa, is exhibited in the sketch of a 
" flower," formed by winged Insects allied to Cicadas, the red 
males constituting the base, and the green females the summit 
of the spike. 
In bay YIIL, on the eastern side of the central hall, an Bay viii. 
exhibition illustrating trees, native to or grown in Britain, is in 
progress. The winter and summer states are indicated by 
photographs, and the foliage, flowers, fruits, seedlings, and 
texture of wood and bark, by specimens, models, and drawings. 
Bays IX. and X. are intended to illustrate the structure of 
the vegetable kingdom, and are in course of arrangement. 
Two table-cases illustrating insectivorous (insect-eating), and Bay ix. 
parasitic plants respectively are temporarily placed in bay IX. 
At the back of the bay is a fine polished section of a buttress 
from the base of the Tapang (Ahauria excelsa), the largest tree 
in Borneo, attaining a height of 250 feet. 
The last bay is devoted to the " Angiospermous " division of Bay X. 
seed-plants, in which the pollen penetrates the stigma and 
fertilises the ovule in a closed chamber or ovary, which develops Monocotyle- 
into the fruit enclosing the seed. The Angiosperms forming the 
section of Monocotyledons are characterised by a single seed- 
D 
